


Hell in Low Heels

by Book_Squirrel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, BAMF Nathalie Sancoeur, Panic/Anxiety Attack, Women Being Awesome, death by shoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 05:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17677301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_Squirrel/pseuds/Book_Squirrel
Summary: When Adrien's car is attacked after school, Nathalie and Adrien work together to deal with the surprise of a non-Akuma danger.





	Hell in Low Heels

‘…Chloe complained about the smell, but it didn’t bother me. It’s just a foetus pig. Max and Nino talked about combining our pigs with cybernetic parts…’

Nathalie typed away on her tablet, one ear on Adrien’s chatter. He still smelled faintly of formaldehyde, but nothing that a brisk airing wouldn’t solve. He would have twenty minutes between arriving at the mansion and the arrival of his Chinese tutor.

‘Alya asked if she could document the making of the pig. Max and Marinette were deciding which console controller could be used to control it or if they should make use computer commands—’

_Pop! Pop!_

The car bounced and swerved.

The driver swore as the car ground to a stop.

‘What happened?’ said Nathalie, shoving her tablet in its case.

‘The tires blew out.’

‘Both at the same time?’

He opened the door on his side. ‘Spike strip!’

A revving sound echoed down the alley.

Nathalie saw the large black vehicle speeding towards the left side of the car. ‘Adrien, transform!’

‘What?’

She pulled him down into the middle seat and threw her body over him.

The impact threw the car into the lamppost on the other side of the street. Metal shrieked and glass shattered.

When Nathalie opened her eyes, a sharp piece of metal scratched her forehead. She wiped at the blood trickling down her forehead. She sat up, every joint groaning. ‘Stay down.’

Adrien undid his seat belt and slid into the space for their feet. His eyes were huge.

‘Gorilla?’ Nathalie tried to undo her seatbelt. The mechanism had jammed. ‘Adrien, there’s a box underneath the passenger seat.’

He pulled it out. It looked like a first aid kit.

Nathalie rummaged within before pulling out a medium-sized pocket knife. She cut her seatbelt and crawled into the passenger seat. ‘Gorilla?’

The entire left-side of his body had merged with the car. They’d have to cut him out. But he had a faint pulse.

‘Nathalie?’

She looked up. Men had climbed out of the car. Two more were coming from an alley. ‘With me. Now!’

Adrien wriggled through the gap in the front seats and climbed out after Nathalie. He grabbed her hand and stayed with her as they ran down a side street.

The _click-click_ of her heels echoed through the quiet residential area.

Ahead, two more men in dark clothes appeared.

Nathalie pushed Adrien down another side street. ‘I need you to transform and get out of here.’

‘I’m not leaving you.’ His mouth dropped open as he stumbled to a stop. ‘How did you know?’

She dragged him along. ‘Later, I promise.’

‘Pagg, claw—, oh.’

‘What?’

‘My ring’s gone! It must’ve fallen off—’

‘Don’t you dare think of going back.’

A radio crackled somewhere. Voices confirming their location.

Nathalie looked around. No fire escapes, no dumpsters, not even abandoned bicycles. And no exit, not even a garden to hide in. ‘Do you have your phone?’

‘It’s in my bag. What about yours?’

‘Destroyed in the car.’

Adrien gripped her hand harder. ‘Are we going to have to fight?’

‘I think so.’ She gave a grim smile. ‘Time to find out if those karate lessons have been helpful.’

The two men came around the corner. ‘Found them,’ one said into his radio. ‘Secretary is with the boy.’

They walked closer.

Nathalie edged in front of Adrien.

‘Out of the way, miss,’ said one of the men. He was tall and lanky. ‘We don’t need you.’

‘Over my dead body.’

‘That can be arranged,’ said the other. He was about Adrien’s height and about three times as wide. He reached into his jacket.

Nathalie slipped her shoes off. As soon as the solid one was within striking distance, she clubbed him with the heel of her shoe.

He fell onto the ground. The gun slid across the cobblestones. He stumbled back.

Head, arm, throat. Kick to the stomach, palm heel to the nose.

He lay in a pool of his own blood.

Nathalie looked up and saw three more men running down the alley.

‘Adrien?’

‘I’m good.’ He dropped the unconscious man on the ground. ‘Wow! Is that from your shoes?’

One of the new men caught Nathalie by the hair. She reached over her head, grabbed his lapels, and threw him onto the ground. She got in three good blows with her remaining shoe.

Her vision exploded with stars. Glass crunched.

When she opened her eyes, one of her lens had shattered. She caught the man’s arm, pulled him to the ground, and strangled him unconscious.

She grabbed the gun from the ground and held it up. Her hands instinctively cradled the weapon, adjusting for the right-handed grip. ‘Let him go.’

The man held a massive knife to Adrien’s throat. His other hand was tangled in Adrien’s hair. ‘Put down the gun and he lives today.’

‘Put down the knife.’

‘You can’t shoot me.’

Sirens sounded somewhere nearby.

Nathalie closed one eye and focussed through the remaining lens. She squeezed the trigger.

The man fell, shot cleanly through the forehead.

Adrien stumbled away, one hand going to the cut on his neck. His eyes were huge. ‘How did you do that?’

‘Years of practice.’ She held Adrien close. ‘My father would take us hunting when we lived in Calgary.’

‘Where’s that?’

‘Alberta, Canada. Keep your hand on that wound.’

‘Oh.’ Adrien looked at the bodies around them and shuddered. He held Nathalie’s hand and kept his other hand on the wound.

The emergency sirens stopped a couple blocks away.

‘Are they looking for us?’

‘Someone is.’ She smoothed his hair back.

Police found them a minute later. Nathalie lay the gun on the ground and continued to hold on to Adrien as they were escorted to the ambulance.

As the EMTs checked them over, Adrien held on to Nathalie’s hand. His normal patter was exacerbated by the rush of adrenaline ‘…She just took her shoe off and beat the guy to a pulp! With a shoe!’

The EMT seeing to Adrien’s neck smiled.

Another EMT checked Nathalie for a concussion before checking the wounds on her face. ‘It doesn’t look like any glass got into your eye, although it’s hard to tell with the swelling,’ said the EMT. ‘You should be able to see again in a few days. Your nose seems fine, too.’

Nathalie flinched and hissed as they put antibiotic ointment on her cuts.

‘Then she shot the guy who was trying to kill me. It was like a movie!’

‘I think you have a new fan,’ said Nathalie’s EMT with a grin.

‘How long until shock kicks in?’

‘It’s different for everyone. It could be a few minutes, it could be a few days or even weeks.’

‘Miss Sancoeur?’ said Officer Gateaux. He held out a phone. ‘Mr Agreste is demanding to speak with you.’

The EMT caught Nathalie’s arm and put her head between her knees.

She said, ‘Tell him I’m in no condition to speak but we’re both fine and will be home soon.’

Gateaux squirmed before relaying the message.

It felt good to let someone else stand up to her boss.

The phone call turned to a video call.

‘Where is Adrien?’ snapped Gabriel.

The officer turned the phone around.

‘Father!’ Adrien took the phone. ‘You’re not going to believe what happened!’

‘Are you injured? How do you feel?’ Gabriel adjusted his glasses. ‘Is that a bandage on your neck?’

‘I’m good, better than Nathalie. Father, you should have seen her! She was such a BAMF!’

Nathalie buried her face in her hands with a groan. It turned into a smothered scream when she touched her swollen eye.

‘A BAMF?’ said Gabriel.

Adrien flushed. ‘Uh, it’s a term from America.’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘I want you both home in fifteen minutes. Officer Gateaux, I am holding you personally responsible for their safety.’

The screen went black.

Gateaux whistled. ‘Is he always like that?’

‘He’s just worried,’ said Adrien, handing the phone back.

Nathalie signed the forms declining a visit to the hospital. Ten minutes later, the police deposited her and Adrien at the mansion.

Nathalie pushed the front door open. ‘Good evening, sir.’

Adrien pushed past Nathalie and ran to his father. He wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s waist, burying his face in his father’s chest.

Gabriel swayed from his son’s impact before wrapping his arms around him. Seeing the blood and bandages, he said, ‘What happened?’ His tone was low and dangerous. 

The two police officers looked much more serious now confronted with Gabriel Himself.

To the officers, Nathalie said, ‘We’ll come to the station tomorrow to complete our account of the event. Until then, good night.’

She shut the door and leaned against it.

‘Nathalie.’

She opened her eyes. ‘What?’

Gabriel motioned to the door.

‘Oh.’ Her hands were sticky with blood. Bloody handprints covered the door handle. She frowned and looked at her feet. She still had her shoes. The heels were broken, and the leather was covered in gore. She sat down on the floor, arms wrapped around herself.

‘What the devil happened?’ growled Gabriel, detaching himself from Adrien.

‘She was awesome, Father!’ Adrien hopped around his father like a small dog. ‘She beat up the men with just her shoes and shot the man with the knife!’

‘A knife?’ Gabriel brushed the bandage with his thumb. ‘Is that what this is from?’

Adrien nodded.

‘Go shower and change. I think you’ve had enough excitement.’

‘Father!’

Nathalie giggled and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Gabriel glared at her.

The laugh grew into a cackle, exploding as tears streamed down her face.

‘What’s so funny?’

She snorted and tried to take a calming breath. ‘You—you have blood on your jacket.’

‘And?’

‘And Adrien was almost killed today.’ She continued in a high, panicked voice, gesturing with her arms. ‘Your son was almost killed, and you’re now telling him to go take a shower. You’re acting like everything is fine, just-just fine.’

She choked on a laugh and bobbed her head, struggling for air.

Adrien sat down next to Nathalie and hugged her.

When she calmed down, Adrien squeezed her as hard as he could. ‘Can she stay here tonight, Father?’

Gabriel sighed and put his hands in his trouser pockets. ‘Very well.’

Adrien beamed at his father.

‘Go get showered and changed. Nathalie, if you’re up to it, shower in one of the guest rooms. I’m sure there’s something around here you can wear.’

Another wave of laughter threatened to spill over. Something to wear? In a fashion designer’s house?

She managed the shower before collapsing exhausted into the bed of her usual guest room.

 

 

Nathalie sat at the kitchen table, staring at her rapidly cooling tea. Her hair hung in a loose braid over her shoulder. The several seasons old dressing gown hung loosely over her borrowed pyjamas.

The padding of feet made her look up.

Adrien’s hair stuck up. He wore dinosaur pyjamas and a NASA t-shirt.

‘Can’t sleep?’

He shook his head.

‘Tea or cocoa?’

‘Cocoa, please.’

The hum of the refrigerator filled the silence as the milk warmed and melted the chocolate.

Nathalie placed the cocoa in front of Adrien. ‘You shouldn’t have to take care of me.’

Adrien took the mug of cocoa and held it close. ‘Father wasn’t going to. You saved me today. Twice.’

Nathalie sat down at the kitchen table. ‘It’s my job.’

‘No, it isn’t. You’re not my mom. Or my bodyguard.’ He stared into the rising steam. ‘You protected me from the car’s impact. You could have died.’

Adrien ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up even more. ‘I can’t sleep. I keep seeing you with the gun. And your shoes.’ He rubbed his eyes hard.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t. Uh,’ he pried his eyes from the mug. ‘Have you done that before? Killed someone?’

‘No.’

Adrien’s shoulders relaxed.

‘You did well out there today. You stood your ground and fought. I couldn’t have done it alone.’

He giggled. ‘I can’t believe you killed a man with your shoes! There has to get you some sort of special fashion award.’

 ‘I think I’ll pass on that one.’

‘If you ever got Akumatized, I’ll definitely run in the other direction.’

Nathalie’s face became guarded. ‘Why’s that?’

‘If you’re that scary when you have control of yourself, how scary will you be when Hawkmoth removes that?’ Adrien finished his cocoa. ‘Are you okay? You look really pale.’

‘Adrien, I don’t know if I was in control of myself today.’

‘What do you mean?’

She played with the tag on the teabag. ‘All I remember is the need to keep you safe. The shot would never have been taken by a rational person. The odds of hitting you or missing and triggering him to kill you were too high.’

‘Oh.’ He blinked. His face turned ashen. ‘Oh, my God. You beat a guy to death with your shoes.’ Adrien’s shoulders heaved. His face turned red and shiny.

Nathalie ran to the intercom. ‘Gabriel, we need you in the kitchen.’

‘It’s three—’

‘Now!’ She ran back to Adrien.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding tightly.

‘It’s okay; I’ve got you.’ She wrapped her arms around him, rocking him back and forth. ‘I won’t let anything happen to you. It’s okay…’

 

A week later at Gabriel’s home office, Nathalie saved the meeting notes on her tablet and waited for the rest of her instructions.

‘I didn’t realise you cared so much for him.’

Nathalie kept her expression neutral.

Gabriel made a ‘hmm’ noise at the back of his throat. ‘Thank you.’ He pushed a stack of freshly authorized contracts across the desk.

‘You’re welcome, sir.’ Nathalie took the stack of papers.

Gabriel’s hand held and covered them. ‘I won’t forget it.’

Nathalie met his gaze. ‘Neither will I.’

Her heels clicked as she left the office, back straight.

 

 


End file.
